Finishing the Unfinished

Success is finishing the double bed sized quilt that has lain unfinished for a year. It seemed too hard to put together due to its size but I finally realised that leaving it as a pile in a carrier bag was no better than having a bag of rags so it was better to have a go and risk making it. It actually worked out alright. Physically it was heavy work moving it around as I stitched it but I managed. I also did free machine quilting for the first time. I know the experts would advise practising on scraps first but I wanted to do it today so I did. Yes, it has a rough and strange quilting design, but I like it. There are spirals, daisies and totally wild doodles. And best of all----- I LIKE IT!!!!


Until next time
Gillian

Keeping Going

Success is keeping going when you really would just like to sit and go to sleep. I am so tired yet still doing everything I have to.


Success is cooking a lovely tea, simply sausage and mashed potato but with an apple, red onion and sultana relish I made up- just boil the apple in some water with a little date syrup for sweetness. Mash when soft and then add finely chopped onion and sultanas and simmer until soft. It really feels good to be creative with food again.


Bye for now
Gillian

Keeping on top of things

Success is keeping on top of all the things going on right now. So many competing demands on my time, and more significantly my energy. I'm more determined than ever to keep doing what I must and yet still make time for myself- even if that just means an hours crochet whilst watching tv at the end of the day.

Back to more me time now
Bye for now
Gillian

Mending

Success is being able to sew up any mending. Ok this has a down side in that I'm the one who has to sew on loose buttons and turn up hems. I don't really mind that though. Today as I re-enforce several loose buttons John finished cooking tea ( I had actually started it) and Tom bribed me to do it with a cup of coffee!

Bye for now
Gillian

Names

Success is learning 30 out of 32 names in year 1 in just 5 days- that is amazing for me as I usually find it hard to put names to faces.

Success is keeping my stress levels under control at a time of great changes.

Success is blogging regularly again.

Bye for now
Gillian

Finding the lost

Success is finding something you didn't know you had. I found two balls of wool today so I can enlarge a granny blanket I thought I had finished when I (mistakenly) thought I had run out of wool. I am so glad I can now make the blanket bigger as I already think it is lovely, and it will be even better if it when it is bigger.


Success is deciding to make pork meatballs to go on a homemade pizza. I simply made little balls of pork mince and sprinkled pork seasoning - sage, onion and apple- over it as I dry fried it. The cooked balls were then arranged on top of our homemade dough  with bbq ketchup, grated mozerrella, red onion and red pepper- the result was the best pizza I have ever had! 


Super success is that Sean (age 9)  made the meatballs with me, helping to shape them, fry them and layer up the pizza. Amazing!!! He was rightly delighted with himself! As he has never since birth eaten much other than bread and butter, we are so pleased to see him eat new foods at last.


Bye for now
Gillian

Blogging

Success is learning to blog from my phone.

Yippee this will make life easier.

Bye for now
Gillian

Crochet and computers

Success is crocheting daily and having people like what I make- that makes me feel really good. I don't seek compliments but will admit that it is really nice when I'm paid one.


Success is being able to just get on with blogging, adding and changing software and basically working my computer without much help. Computers were just coming into schools when I left school so everything I know I have had to learn for myself, with help from my husband and, ironically, my children. We can learn all through our lives and I think it's really vital to do so in order to keep our brains active and stimulated.


Bye for now
Gillian

Organising

Success is organising my resources at school. I'm not very tidy usually and tend to have piles of things lying around, making it difficult to quickly find what I need. Today I finished sorting my resources and I feel really good about it. 


Success is continuing to crochet daily. I'm making two hexagon granny blankets and I'm making good progress by crocheting a bit every night. I do it whilst watching TV so that I don't feel like I'm wasting time doing nothing (that's what just watching TV feels like to me- I have to fiddle and do something productive).


Bye for now 
Gillian

Back to school

Success is going back to work after the summer holidays and saying nothing negative all day. I know this sounds a bit strange, but often people are negative about their jobs especially when change is involved. Today I want to recognise that change is sometimes neccesary to improve things. Without it we would just repeat what has gone before, and if it didn't give the desired result before then something else will need to be done. So I've listened today and honestly look forward to positive change.


Success is coming home from work to a hug from your  9 year old and them saying they missed you. 


Success is coming home from work to find your 18 year old has cooked spagetti bolognaise while you've been out. I've always encouraged my children to help out at home as we are all part of a family team. It was really nice to see that message has gone in. I am very grateful to sit down and relax with a coffee instead of cooking for an hour. Being part of a family team is so cool!


Bye for now
Gillian

Little Successes

This blog has a simple premise. I am going to tell you about the little things in my life that have gone well.


I have a tendency to judge myself harshly and sometimes wonder if I get anything right. To balance that I used to keep a journal in which I had to write three things that went well that day- three successes... this is my new blog version.


I hope that it helps you recognise that even little things are important and can make you feel good. I think we all need to recognise the positives in our lives; to recognise our own little successes. I hope it helps us see the good things in our everyday lives...


Bye for now
Gillian